Dallas Mavericks' NBA championship shows patience pays off

LeBron haters crowed with glee. Cleveland nearly staged a parade. Germany swelled in pride, makers of great automobiles and the best foreign-born player in NBA history.

And when Dirk Nowitzki walked back down to the tunnel to savor his first few moments as a champion, a twinge of sadness struck Steve Kerr.

He began thinking about Steve Nash.

"Steve's celebration would've been exactly like Dirk's," said Kerr, the former Suns general manager. "He would've gone to the locker room for some time alone. It would've been all about the moment and not anything to do with the media. There wouldn't have been any antics. It would've been the coolest thing ever."

Yes, it would be the coolest thing ever. Nash's quest for a championship is the best fairy tale left in basketball. That's partly why the Suns need to swallow hard, sign Nash to a two-year extension, align his final contract with a new deal for Grant Hill and ride this thing to the very end.

If Nash wants to stay, they owe him that much.

"You have to keep him," Kerr said. "To me, Steve Nash is the Suns organization. He's what you want the organization to be about. He's the perfect example of what you want your young players to become. So to me, it's a no-brainer. You keep Steve, he retires as a Sun, and you put him in the Ring of Honor."

Those who wish to trade Nash present a logical argument. He's 37, an aging point guard in a young man's league. Without more talent around him, his services are being wasted in Phoenix. Peddling him to the right suitor could bring much in return, helping the Suns transition into a new era of basketball.

Sorry, not this time.

Too many players have left the Suns in a huff. Few have been as popular as Nash. And when Nowitzki finally broke through in Dallas, it was proof that loyalty matters, that faith can be rewarded, that patience is a virtue.

Still, you wonder how Nash felt when he saw his close friend prevail in the NBA Finals. Does it make him believe in storybook endings? Does it trigger wanderlust, prompting him to request a trade and seek a championship elsewhere?

Surely, he has noticed what the title has done for Nowitzki's reputation.

"It's funny how just a year ago, Dirk was still a soft European. Now he's on that list of being one of the greatest of all-time. It's those (championship) moments that separate people. Dirk showed that in the playoffs."

Nash recently told a New York radio station that he wishes to play three more seasons, and I'm guessing he wants to finish what he started here in Phoenix.

He knows that chasing a championship doesn't always work (see Karl Malone, etc.), and the idea probably strikes him as tacky.

If that's the case, the Suns need to do what's right for their team and the soul of the organization. Among those who average less than 15 points per game, Nash is the most entertaining player in the NBA. He remains a great investment for the future, especially if the Suns plan to draft his understudy, former BYU star Jimmer Fredette.

"I've watched him my entire life," Fredette said.

"He's been a big influence on my game. Just the way he can get in the lane and finish at the rim no matter how he shoots it - left hand, right hand, off his right foot, it doesn't matter. Those awkward-position shots are something I've definitely tried to implement into my game, and I just love the way he handles the ball. No one can take it from him. He's almost daring them to come get it so he can go by them. I love that about him."

There's much to love about both Nash and Nowitzki, and before Kerr left the organization, he wanted to reunite the former teammates in Phoenix.

He asked Nash to help recruit Nowitzki if he didn't sign an extension with Dallas.

Nash agreed, but the window never opened.

"Dirk's too loyal of a guy," Kerr said.

"He and Steve are one and the same; Dirk is just the seven-foot version of Steve. They're basketball guys who want to get better and be great teammates. That's it."

Lesson to the Suns: You hold onto guys like that, whatever the cost, wherever the journey ends.